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The elements that, apparently, nature left aside may not necessarily be destined to perish by the side of the road. Rather the opposite, they can become part of your home and thus give a touch between rustic and special to your home.

Create materials & tools list

Heavy duty upholstery fabric (solid fabrics are easier to use for a DIY project than a pattern)

Staple gun/ staples

Recycled or inexpensive fabric (to be used in those “unseen places”)

Cereal box cardboard

Batting Spray glue

Zippers or thread (anything you consider to sew cushion covers)

Foam or feet (replacement items for worn out material)

Pliers

Hammer

Sewing machine

Fabric scissors

Measuring tape

Step #1: pick the couch that best suits your style

To start your project you need to find the right couch, the general shape and structure of the piece are some aspects you should consider when looking for a proper couch to reupholster. In addition, be sure to look and determine how many sections you would like to reupholster; arms, back of back, front of back rest, front bottom, pillows and cushions are the “visible” parts of your piece of furniture, and there are two “hidden” sections in your couch: under the cushion, under the seat cushions. In this starting part of your project, it will be important for you to know that depending on the size of your piece, you may need between 13-20 yards of fabric; I mention this since you might keep in mind when choosing fabric and so you can have an idea of the money you will need to invest.

Step #2: selecting the best fabric for your piece of furniture

In this step, you might want to set a budget that fits with the features you are looking for in your fabric; then, it will essential the yards you will need. Furthermore, strive for fabric with a sturdy weave that is durable so your furniture lasts in the long term. Avoid fabric with continuous pattern such as stripes, they can be difficult to line up during reupholstering process, thus you can require more material to make your patterns align.

Step #3: remove the old fabric, foam & batting

Make sure to rip off the old fabric, the batting and the foam from your couch; since foam is an expensive material, when removing it from your piece of furniture inspect if it is really necessary to remove it, you might want to keep it and work with it in your reupholstering project. Next, it will be time to foam all of the sections you want to change, the front, sides and top of the arms are usually the most common sections to foam. You can purchase High Density Urethane Foam, this way you prevent your DIY project from irregular shapes that may show through once you cover it with the new batting and fabric.

Once your couch is foamed, it will be time to cover it with the new batting. You might notice that at some point when stapling batting into place, some dimples appear due to the staples but do not worry because they can be easily smoothed out once the fabric is stretch over it. The batting process does not need to be very precise; you can actually roughly cut it into pieces that suitably cover each section of your couch.

Step #4: attaching the fabric you have chosen

Attach muslin over the seat cushion base (springs), this means that you will have to locate areas on the frame of your piece where you can staple the muslin. Then, cut muslin so it can fit; next step, use the cardboard trick along the edge of your couch in order to hide staples and give a uniform edge. Now, fold the muslin over the already stapled cardboard strip and tuck under the arm and back. Make sure to pull the muslin tight and staple it to the frame.

Be generous and give yourself enough fabric to work with, now drape a large piece of your fabric over the arm of the couch, staple in the joint and that remaining fabric you see hanging off the front and back of the arm will be folded into a fan later on. Staple the fabric to the bottom; wrap and staple your fabric around the sides of the piece of furniture about 5 inches; the idea is that you can notice that the bottom piece is tightly secured with staples. Attach fabric to the front of the back rest, use flip fabric over the front of the couch, and then pull it tight and staple to the frame

Step #5: the feet & cushions

Pick the feet that best match your couch, and in case you cannot find them in the color you want; remember you can consider the idea of staining them. Now it is time to wrap in new batting the cushions and pillows you want on your couch, it is advisable to use spray glue so you can truly secure the batting to the foam cushion. Use your creativity to create pillow covers that look gorgeous on your couch, make this step simple by making pillows and cushions envelopes that you only need to sew a zipper on…with a little of patience and creativity you will execute an amazing DIY project that can have a big impact in your living room.